• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.16 no.12
• /
• pp.93-102
• /
• 2011

This paper presents a walking guidance system for blind pedestrians in an outdoor environment using just one single camera. Unlike many existing travel-aid systems that rely on stereo-vision, the proposed system aims to get necessary information of the road environment by using just single camera fixed at the belly of the user. To achieve this goal, a top-view image of the road is used, on which obstacles are detected by first extracting local extreme points and then verified by the polar edge histogram. Meanwhile, user motion is estimated by using optical flow in an area close to the user. Based on these information extracted from image domain, an audio message generation scheme is proposed to deliver guidance instructions via synthetic voice to the blind user. Experiments with several sidewalk video-clips show that the proposed walking guidance system is able to provide useful guidance instructions under certain sidewalk environments.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.1123-1129
• /
• 2006

Pyrene of natural and anthropogenic sources is one of the toxic, mutagenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) listed as priority pollutants. The objectives of this research are to break down pyrene by using ozonation, identify the intermediates and byproducts of pyrene, and test the biodegradability of intermediates and byproducts of pyrene in the aqueous phase. Since pyrene is non-polar, hexane was chosen as a solvent to effectively dissolve pyrene. Pyrene solutions were treated with ozone, as it has high oxidation capacity and electrophilic characteristic. After different ozonation pretreatment times (2, 3, and 10 minutes), intermediates of pyrene in the form of yellowish solid were collected from the hexane solution using a centrifuge. They were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). $BOD_5$, COD, and E-coli toxicity tests have been performed to assess the ozonation products.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.165-173
• /
• 2012

A 26 day experiment was conducted to determine the effects of feeding and starvation on the survival, morphology, and histology in chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) fry. We included three experimental groups: starved, fed, and initial. The survival and growth rates were lower in the starved group than in the fed group (P < 0.05). In the starved group, survival began to decline after 16 days, and all fish had died after 26 days. We determined the effects of starvation on the morphometric parameters using the truss and classical dimensions. The dimensions in the head region were larger in the starved group than in the initial and fed groups. In contrast, the truss dimensions of the fed group were larger than those of the initial and starved groups. Starvation reduced the heights of the hepatocyte nuclei and of the intestinal epithelium (P < 0.05). The starved group also showed atrophy of the digestive structures and shrinkage of the foregut and midgut. Starvation led to the degeneration and atrophy of the exocrine pancreas, in which the lumen was markedly diminished and the folds of mucosa were less apparent. The hepatocyte morphology in the starved group was abnormal compared with that of the initial and fed groups, with highly compact, irregularly shrunken nuclei. Melanomacrophages were randomly distributed in the kidneys of the starved group, and their abundance increased rapidly during the experiment. In contrast, neither the initial nor fed group had any melanomacrophages. These results suggest that the nutritional parameters used in this study are useful indices of nutritional status in chum salmon.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.11 no.6
• /
• pp.83-91
• /
• 2006

Reduction kinetics and the behaviour of intermediate of three high explosives (HMX, RDX, and TNT) were studies in batch reactors using nano- or micro- size zero valent iron(nZVI or mZVI) as reducing agent. The kinetic constants normalized by the mass of iron ($k_M$) or by the surface area ($k_{SA}$) were measured and compared along with the changes in the concentrations of intermediates. Results showed that $k_M$ and $k_{SA}$ values were not suitable to fully explain the behaviour of mother compounds and reduced intermediates in the batch reactor. The concentrations of initial explosives degradation products, such as nitroso-RDXs, nitroso-HMXs, and hydroxylamino-TNTs, were higher in mZVI treated reactor than in nZVI treated reactor, whereas more reduced polar intermediates such as TAT were accumulated in the nZVI reactor. Therefore, a new parameter, which accounted for the intermediates reduction, needs to be developed.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.48-54
• /
• 2020

This paper presents a screening protocol for the selection of solvents available for the solvent extraction desalination process. The desalination solvents hypothetically and theoretically require the capability of (1) Forming hydrogen bonds with water, (2) Absorbing some water molecules into its non-polar solvent layer, (3) Changing solubility for water-solvent separation, and (4) Rejecting salt ions during absorption. Similar to carboxylic acids, amine solvents are solvent chemicals applicable for desalination. The key parameter for selecting the potential solvent was the octanol-water partitioning coefficient (Kow) of which preferable value for desalination was in the range of 1-3. Six of the 30 amine solvents can absorb water and have a variable, i.e., temperature swing solubility with water molecule for water-solvent separation. Also, the hydrogen bonding interaction between solvent and water must be stronger than the ion-dipole interaction between water and salt, which means that the salt ions must be broken from the water and only water molecules absorbed for the desalination. In the final step, three solvents were selected as desalination solvents to remove salt ions and recover water. The water recovery of these three solvents were 15.4 %, 2.8 %, 10.5 %, and salt rejection were 76 %, 98 %, 95 %, respectively. This study suggests a new screening protocol comprising the theoretical and experimental approaches for the selection of solvents for the desalination method which is a new and challenges the desalination process in the future.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.59-70
• /
• 2016

Establishing the strategic plans to foster the oceans and fisheries (O&F) industry as an engine for national sustainable economic growth has become an important task for developing countries as well as developed countries. The first step to do so is to identify O&F industry and analyze its economic effects. Therefore, the prime purposes of the paper are two-fold. The first is to identify O&F industry and estimate its market size using 2012 Input-Output (I-O) table published by the Bank of Korea. The second purpose is to obtain some quantitative information on production-inducing effect, value-added creation effect, and employment-inducing effect of the O&F industry. To this end, we apply an IO analysis using exogenous specification of the O&F industry. The results show that the O&F industry covers 4.1% and 3.0% of national output and gross domestic product, respectively. Moreover, we found that 1.0 won of production or investment in the O&F industry induces 1.7363 won of production and 0.4759 won of value-added in the national economy. One billion won of production or investment in the O&F industry touches off 7.5569 persons of employment. This information can be utilized in the O&F industry-related policy-making.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.247-254
• /
• 2010

Single cell PCR analysis and light and scanning electron microscopic techniques were utilized to identify free living bivalve larvae in the coastal waters of Tae-an, on the west coast of Korea. Through DNA sequencing, venerid clam larvae were isolated and identified as Ruditapes philippinarum (99% similarity) and Meretrix lusoria (99%). Under microscopic observation, the D-veliger stage of R. philippinarum exhibited symmetrical shoulder angles and an elliptical ventral form. In contrast, M. lusoria displayed asymmetrical shoulder angles and a round ventral form in the umbonal stage. Size of the R. philippinarum larvae was $156{\pm}22{\mu}m$ in length, $126{\pm}12{\mu}m$ in height, $92{\pm}14{\mu}m$ in width with a length: height ratio of 1.23. Meretrix lusoria was $202{\pm}44{\mu}m$ in length, $161{\pm}35{\mu}m$ in height, $96{\pm}38{\mu}m$ in width with a length: height ratio of 1.25. Experimental results indicate that morphological and molecular characteristics provide evidence for the larval identification of these two venerid clam larvae species in nature.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2014

To understand the effects of fluctuations in dam discharge due to river environments and phytoplankton communities, we monitored such environments and phytoplankton communities biweekly, from February 2001 to February 2002 and from February 2004 to February 2005, in the lower Han River (LHR), South Korea. The phytoplankton abundance during the dry season was approximately two times higher than that during the rainy season. In particular, fluctuations in diatom assemblages, which constituted over 70% of the total phytoplankton abundance, were affected severely by the changes in the discharge. When a large quantity of water in a dam was discharged into the LHR, the conductivity and the concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) decreased rapidly, whereas the concentrations of suspended solids (SS), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and dissolved silica (DSi) increased immediately. Time-delayed relationship also revealed that the dam discharge had an immediately significant negative relationship with phytoplankton abundance. On the whole, fluctuations in phytoplankton communities in the LHR were influenced much more by hydrodynamics such as dam discharge than by the availability of nutrients. Thus, the variability in these concentrations usually parallels the strength of river flow that is associated with summer rainfall, with higher values during periods of high river discharge.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.27 no.9
• /
• pp.1670-1680
• /
• 2017

Lignocellulose, composed mostly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin generated through secondary growth of woody plant, is considered as promising resources for biofuel. In order to use lignocellulose as a biofuel, biodegradation besides high-cost chemical treatments were applied, but knowledge on the decomposition of lignocellulose occurring in a natural environment is insufficient. We analyzed the 16S rRNA gene and metagenome to understand how the lignocellulose is decomposed naturally in decayed Torreya nucifera (L) of Bija forest (Bijarim) in Gotjawal, an ecologically distinct environment. A total of 464,360 reads were obtained from 16S rRNA gene sequencing, representing diverse phyla; Proteobacteria (51%), Bacteroidetes (11%) and Actinobacteria (10%). The metagenome analysis using single molecules real-time sequencing revealed that the assembled contigs determined originated from Proteobacteria (58%) and Actinobacteria (10.3%). Carbohydrate Active enZYmes (CAZy)- and Protein families (Pfam)-based analysis showed that Proteobacteria was involved in degrading whole lignocellulose, and Actinobacteria played a role only in a part of hemicellulose degradation. Combining these results, it suggested that Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria had selective biodegradation potential for different lignocellulose substrates. Thus, it is considered that understanding of the systemic microbial degradation pathways may be a useful strategy for recycle of lignocellulosic biomass, and the microbial enzymes in Bija forest can be useful natural resources in industrial processes.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.20-30
• /
• 2012

In case of analyzing PAHs (EPA 16 compounds) in oil-contaminated soils, the lump of peaks may occur because of the aliphatic and polar compounds in oil. This phenomenon is due to the lower accuracy of the analysis. To solve this problem, evaluation of application of silicagel-alumina multi-layer fraction was performed using standard substances and oil-contaminated soils. As a result of application of silicagel-alumina multi-layer fraction cleanup method using standard substances, recovery rates of surrogate standards (5 compounds including Naphthalene-d8) were 83~100% and those of target standards were 75~129%. These were to meet the target values (60~130%) in this study. When used 4% water-silicagel column analyze PAHs in oil-contaminated soils, Some problems were generated for quantitative analysis of PAHs; concentration of PAHs was underestimated due to an upward baseline of internal standard (recovery rate: less than 60%) and overestimated by the lump of peaks which were not purified (the biggest recovery rate: more than 400%). On the other hand, in case of silicagel-alumina multi-layer fraction cleanup method, recovery rate of surrogate standards were 61~101.6%. Therefore this cleanup method was considered a valid method to improve accuracy of analysis of PAHs in oil-contaminated soils.